Simulation of Air Flow Through a Test Chamber

by Gregory K. Ovrebo

ARL-MR- 0680 December 2007

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

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Army Research Laboratory
Adelphi, MD 20783-1197

ARL-MR-0680 December 2007

Simulation of Air Flow Through a Test Chamber

Gregory K. Ovrebo
Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, ARL

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

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Simulation of Air Flow Through a Test Chamber
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Gregory K. Ovrebo
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13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT
Computer simulation was used to investigate the flow of forced air through a test chamber used to measure heat dissipated by an
inductor. Cosmos FloWorks simulations provide a qualitative picture of the air stream passing through the chamber, as well as
calculations of air velocity at the chamber outlet port. These results provide a correction factor for measurements of power
dissipation in high-power electric components.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Simulation, finite element, flow rate
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ii
Contents

List of Figures iv

1. Introduction 1

2. Model and Simulation Preparation 1

3. Air Flow Simulation 2

4. Results 6

5. Conclusion 7

Distribution List 8

iii
List of Figures

Figure 1. Solid model of a test apparatus which uses an anemometer and air temperature
measurements to calculate power dissipation of an inductor inside the chamber. ....................2
Figure 2. Velocity of air leaving the thermo-anemometer chamber, as a function of outlet
port diameter. .............................................................................................................................3
Figure 3. Sampled air flow trajectories passing through the box. Side view of the center
plane...........................................................................................................................................4
Figure 4. Contour plot of air velocity inside the box. Side view of the center plane. ...................5
Figure 5. Laminar flow at the edges of the outlet reduces the effective diameter of the port. .......6

iv
1. Introduction

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is interested in developing high power electronics for a
range of Army applications. One aspect of this development effort is investigation of materials
and designs which may optimize the operation of high-power inductors, an integral part of high-
density power conversion systems. To this end, ARL scientists investigated inductor core
designs using two different core materials and three different winding types 1 .
Power loss in the test inductors was measured with a thermo-anemometer chamber. The
inductor was placed inside an insulated chamber and operated as part of a DC-DC boost power-
stage test fixture. Power levels were in the range of 5 to 25 kW. Air was forced into the inlet
port with an attached blower. Air speed and air temperature were measured at the outlet port
with a thermo-anemometer. This data, along with air specific heat and measurements of relative
humidity and barometric pressure, were used to calculate air density inside the chamber and total
power dissipation by the inductor. However, initial attempts at calculating inductor heating
produced results which were anomalously high. It was determined that a simulation of air flow
inside the thermo-anemometer chamber might resolve this anomaly.

2. Model and Simulation Preparation

A model of the thermo-anemometer chamber was prepared with SolidWorks modeling software.
A view of the model, with its components rendered semi-transparent, is shown in figure 1. The
box is 12 inches high, 12 inches wide and 18 inches long. Air flow enters the box through the
round opening on the right, 3 inches in diameter, and exits through the port on the left. The exit
port is extended with a tube in our model to allow some averaging of air velocity and avoid
vertices at the exit, which can be computationally problematic. If we specify the velocity of air
entering the chamber, we can calculate the flow properties, like velocity, pressure, and flow rate,
through the box to the exit port. We used Cosmos FloWorks, a computational fluid dynamics
software package, to perform these simulations.

1
Salem, T. E.; Urciuoli, D. P.; Lubomirsky, V; Ovrebo, G. K. Design Considerations for High Power Inductors in DC-DC
Converters. Applied Power Electronics Conference, 2007.

1
 Figure 1. Solid model of a test apparatus which uses an anemometer and air temperature measurements to
calculate power dissipation of an inductor inside the chamber.

3. Air Flow Simulation

Our simulation of air flow through the thermo-anemometer chamber began by defining a
constant flow of air at 5.1 m/s into the 3-inch diameter inlet port. This simulates the blower
attached to the test chamber inlet. The chamber model was meshed in Cosmos FloWorks with
48,000 cells. This is somewhat finer than the default mesh, avoiding computational anomalies
encountered in preliminary simulation attempts while still keeping run times manageable. The
solid model was modified for each run, changing the diameter of the outlet port so we could
study the effect of outlet size on the air velocity coming out of the box. Outlet diameter was
varied from 2 inches up to 4 inches. A chart of average air velocity at the exit as a function of
outlet diameter is shown in figure 2.
The source of the experimenters quandary can be seen in this figure. Contrary to what one
might assume, the speed of the air leaving the chamber is greater than the speed of the air
entering it, even when inlet and outlet ports are the same size. Although the inlet air velocity is

2
5.1 m/s, the outlet velocity from an identical 3-inch port is 7 m/s. The simulation results can
shed some light on what is happening to the air flow inside our chamber.

18

Air velocity, exit (m/s) 16

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Exit diameter (in.)

Figure 2. Velocity of air leaving the thermo-anemometer chamber, as a function

of outlet port diameter.

Figure 3 is a side view of air flow through the center of the chamber, where the trajectories
shown represent sampled air streams inside the box. The colors denote the velocity of the air
streams as they pass from the inlet, on the right side of the chamber, to the outlet, on the left side.
In this example, the inlet and outlet ports are both 3 inches in diameter. Note how the envelope
of the air flow spreads as it travels down the box, and then narrows again at the outlet.

3
 Figure 3. Sampled air flow trajectories passing through the box. Side view of the center plane.

Figure 4 is the same side view of the center plane of the chamber, showing a contour plot of air
velocity inside the box. Again we see the spreading of the air stream traveling through the box,
narrowing as it reaches the exit. Also note how air speed increases at the outlet in a sort of
Bernoulli effect.

4
 Figure 4. Contour plot of air velocity inside the box. Side view of the center plane.

In figure 5 we look at a close-up view of the outlet port of the thermo-anemometer chamber.
One factor in the discrepancy between inlet and outlet air speeds is laminar flow at the outlet,
where air velocity at the ports surface is zero, and increases farther from the surface. In the
contour plot, this laminar flow is represented by a dark blue region next to the opening. This
means that the outlet ports effective size is smaller than the measured diameter.

5
 Figure 5. Laminar flow at the edges of the outlet reduces the effective diameter of the port.

4. Results

Our investigators calculated the power P dissipated by the inductor inside the thermo-
anemometer chamber with the formula 2
P = DaAC 1p t,

where the air density Da is derived from the formula 3

Da =
[3.4844 p h(2.52t 20.582)] .
t + 273.15
A = air outlet cross-sectional area,
C 1p = air specific heat with humidity at standard pressure,

h = relative humidity,

2
Wong, G.S.K.; Embleton, T.F.W. Variation of Specific Heats and of Specific Heat Ratio in Air with Humidity. Journal of
the Acoustical Society of America Aug. 1984, 555559.
3
Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards (U. S.), 1978, 83, 419.

6
 p = barometric pressure,
t = air inlet temperature,
t = air outlet temperature rise,
and = air outlet speed.
A correction to A, the air outlet cross-sectional area, had to be made to account for the laminar
flow around the surface of the outlet. According to the results of our fluid dynamic calculations
performed with Cosmos FloWorks, outlet air velocity equals inlet air velocity in our chamber
when the outlet is 3.5 in diameter, compared to the inlets 3.0 diameter (see figure 2). This
ratio of 3.0/3.5, or 0.857, will correct for the anomaly observed in power measurements due to
the properties of air flow in the thermo-anemometer chamber.

5. Conclusion

We were able to resolve an anomaly in the experimenters calculations of power dissipation by

high power inductors. The analysis of the behavior of air flow inside their experimental
apparatus revealed laminar flow around the outlet port of their thermo-anemometer chamber. A
correction factor was calculated to account for the effective diameter of the outlet port and
correct the calculation of power dissipated by the inductor.
This use of a fluid dynamics computation allowed a quick resolution of a problem which did not
lend itself to an analytic solution, and which might have required much more time and resources
to be resolved empirically.

7
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